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O sacred banquet!

Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, transferred from the usual Friday after Trinity Sunday. The texts for the Divine Office and the Mass for the feast were composed by St. Thomas Aquinas, and they show the poetical side of the man, not often on view. The Antiphon for the Magnificat of Second Vespers is in prose but might as well be poetry: “O sacrum convivium, in quo Christus sumitur, recolitur memoria passionis ejus, mens impletur gratia, et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur–"O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of his passion is recalled, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.”

As elsewhere in Aquinas's texts for this liturgy, there is profound theology in the antiphon, which he spelled out in his Summa theologica (III, q. 73, a. 4) in which he considered the question whether it was appropriate that the sacrament had more than one name. His crisp answer is Yes because believers have many names for the eucharist. And he explains:

This sacrament has a threefold sign-value. One is with regard to the past insofar as it commemorates the Lord's Passion, which was a true sacrifice... and this is why it is called the “sacrifice.” A second sign-value is with regard to the present reality of the Church’s unity to which people are gathered through this sacrament; and this is why it is called “communion” or “synaxis.” St. John Damascene says that “it is called ‘communion’ because through it we communicate with Christ, because we share in his flesh and godhead, and because through it we are united with one another. Its third value has to do with the future because it prefigures our enjoyment of God in our homeland, and this is why it is called “Viaticus” because it offers us the way to get there. In this respect it is also called “Eucharist,” that is, good grace because God’s grace is life eternal, and because it really contains Christ, who is full of grace. In Greek it is also called metalepsis, i.e., “assumption” because as Damascene says, through it we assume [take on] the Son’s Godhead.

The historians argue over whether St. Thomas also composed the much-loved Adoro te devote. Ann Olivier complained on another thread that we don’t ask enough of poets when it comes to translation. Here is what two poets did with this hymn.

Your ports are all superfluous here,
Save that which lets in Faith, the ear.
Faith is my skill; Faith can believe
As fast as Love new laws can give.
Faith is my force : Faith strength affords
To keep pace with those pow'rful words.
And words more sure, more sweet than they,
Love could not think, Truth could not say.

O let Thy wretch find that relief
Thou didst afford the faithful thief.
Plead for me, Love I allege and show
That Faith has farther here to go,
And less to lean on : because then
Though hid as God, wounds writ Thee man;
Thomas might touch, none but might see
At least the suffering side of Thee;
And that too was Thyself which Thee did cover,
But here ev'n that's hid too which hides the other.

Help, Lord, my faith, my hope increase,
And fill my portion in Thy peace :
Give love for life; nor let my days
Grow, but in new powers to Thy name and praise.

O dear memorial of that Death
Which lives still, and allows us breath!
Rich, royal food! Bountiful bread
Whose use denies us to the dead;
Whose vital gust alone can give
The same leave both to eat and live.
Live ever, bread of loves, and be
My life, my soul, my surer self to me.

O soft, self -wounding Pelican!
Whose breast weeps balm for wounded man :
Ah, this way bend Thy benign flood
To a bleeding heart that gasps for blood.
That blood, whose least drops sovereign be
To wash my world of sins from me.

Come Love ! come Lord ! and that long day
For which I languish, come away.
When this dry soul those eyes shall see,
And drink the unseal'd source of Thee :
When Glory's sun Faith's shades shall chase,
And for Thy veil give me Thy face. Amen.

And here is Gerard Manley Hopkins’s version:

Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.

Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived:
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth himself speaks truly or there's nothing true.

On the cross thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here thy very manhood steals from human ken:
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.

I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he;
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.

O thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died,
Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind,
There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find.

Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican;
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what thy bosom ran---
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.

Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light
And be blest for ever with thy glory's sight. Amen.

The Body of Christ suffers because of the acute suffering of refugees throughout the world. 51 million people. A staggering figure. And most are children. As we celebrate this great feast we are one with our sisters throughout the world who lack the essentials.

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Fr. Komonchak, thank you for lovely material for reflection on the feast day. I remember the Remondi's "O Sacrum Convivium" from grade school choir days. Though I'm sure we were not nearly as polished as the group on youtube!

While i was at Georgetown late this evening for exercise (or what now passes for exercise in my increasing decrepitude), it dawned on me that the sequence for Corpus Christi is the majestic "Lauda Sion Salvatorem," not "Ecce Panis Angelorum." Before making the comment at 6:20 pm, I had been glancing at the readings in the Italian Missal. It gives the "Ecce Panis Angelorum" as the sequence, in Latin and in a translation.

It's striking how many "options" or "variations" the Italians have been allowed in their Missal (1983). It helps to be right next door to the seat of power. And despite the 2001 Instruction Liturgiam Authenticam, which required all conferences to revise their Missals over the next ten years, the revision of the Italian Messale Romano is still promised. One sticking point between the conference and the Congregation for Divine Worship is the translation of "per tutti" ("for all") in the Institution Narrative over the chalice (cup). The conference wants to retain "per tutti," while the Congregation insists on "per molti" ("for many"). Stalemate. As well, the German-speaking conferences on the same point ("fur alles"). And those conferences just may prevail under Pope Francis.

The Anglophone bishops are always obedient and quick off the mark.

I too remember the Remondi setting of the "O Sacrum Convivium." And in my eight years as a student in the Augustinians, every chapel exercise, and there were many, began with the antiphon, its verse and response, and concluding prayer. Many decades later, I can still manage them.

In this one thread, I think I have used all my turns for June. And July. There is a a wonderful sermon of Anastasius of Sinai in the breviary for the feast of the Transfiguration, 6 August. Time enough till then.

Recently on a liturgical blog I argued that the best poets should be invited to participate in the translations of Scripture and the liurgy and invited to write new lyrics for hymns. Someone argued against my position that great poets are too individualistic to write hymn lyrics. Hopkins, it was said, could not possibly write a fine hymn because his method (or non-method?) of prosody ("sprung verse") would prevent his writing verse that would match the typical rhythms of Catholic hymns.

The example above shows, I think, that that is simply false. There's no sprung rhythm there, and there is fine religious poetry. (Oh, the tiresome biases of liturgical professionals!)

The angel's bread becomes the bread of men
The heavenly bread ends all symbols
Oh, miraculous thing! The body of the Lord will nourish
The poor, poor, and humble servant
The poor, poor, and humble servant

The viaticum is a hallowed extension of the Eucharist and reminds us that the sick and dying, though absent, are a part of the eucharistic community. The second extension, adoration of the reserved sacrament, is equally important, and gives the celebration of Mass a rootedness in a community of prayer and contemplation. The aesthetics of Benediction contrast with those of the average vernacular Mass. Perhaps rather than modernize Benediction we need to bring back to the Mass some silent contemplation and even some Latin.

"The second extension, adoration of the reserved sacrament, is equally important, and gives the celebration of Mass a rootedness in a community of prayer and contemplation. The aesthetics of Benediction contrast with those of the average vernacular Mass. Perhaps rather than modernize Benediction we need to bring back to the Mass some silent contemplation and even some Latin."

Joseph,

The Mass is a celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus by his people. What you state above subverts that whole theology.

(Salut?) It was a devotional service that often followed high mass on Sunday. It was the closing ceremony of a retreat or a novena or a mission, Forty Hours, Etc.

Nice, because people knew the hymns and sang them with vigor: O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo.

The Blessed Sacrament was placed in a monstrance for adoration. The priest wore a cope and a large stole. Following the two hymns, the priest would conceal his hands in the stole and elevate the monstrance before the congregation. He would then move it in the sign of the cross -- the blessing/benediction. After replacing the monstrance on the altar, the priest knelt and led the congregation in the Divine Praises. After that, he removed the Blessed Sacrament from the monstrance and replaced it in the tabernacle. Then, for the closing number, the congregation belted out Holy God, We Praise Thy Name!

Gerelyn writes about Benediction in past tense, but it's not really that uncommon, at least around here. Having said that, I've only been to it once in my life, and they never taught us how to preside at it in deacon school.

I looked on YouTube to find one to show Claire, but the only one I saw was one where NO ONE was present except the priest offering the Benediction and a man in a Franciscan habit. The server? The two of them sang/squawked ALONE in the vast church. Not a good illustration of what Benediction was like in days of yore.

My parish offers Eucharist Adoration for several hours a day Monday through Friday, ending with the Benediction service somewhat as described by Gerelyn. As this precedes a late-afternoon Mass, it is fairly well-attended by the daily Mass-attenders, many of whom come by after work. Not relegated to "days of yore", nor is the practice of contemplation or wordlessly gazing upon the Lord, within oneself or in the consecrated species.

Thomas Merton and the Trappists did a lot after Vatican II to promote and popularize again the practice of "centering prayer" and contemplative prayer. Such practices need not be regarded as antithetical to the apostolate or social justice activity. We need and are nourished by both, and each strengthens the other.

We still do Benediction here; mainly in Lent on Friday evenings after Stations of the Cross. Usually one of the deacons presides. I often play the organ accompaniments to the hymns. There are bazillion versions of those, but the most common, and the ones we use, are the tunes "St. Thomas" for the hymn Down in Adoration Falling (Tantum Ergo); and "Duguet" for O Saving Victim (O Salutaris Hostia). It is a short but lovely devotion. Many people find it peaceful and healing.

I agree that contemplative prayer and communal prayer are not opposed. Yes, they're different, but not entirely. Both are prayer, both address the Lord. The difference is that when we use words together we are praying the same thoughts but sometimes (not always) when we are silent we're praying somewhat different thoughts.

But why does it need to be assumed that at Mass everyone is praying the same thought at every momen? Mass is a communal human meal, and at such a meal not everyone is saying the same thing or listening to the same thing. Conversation is part of the meal. There are some quiet times in the Mass (e.g., when the Host is elevated) when no one says anything, but can anyone doubt that the community is united in silent prayer? At other times, (e.g., when returning after receiving Communion) I don't doubt that there are many personal prayers going on, but that doesn't stop the Mass from being a human meal.

Agree with Bill. The Eastern churches consume all the species with nothing reserved. Contemplation can be done with icons which actually has a much longer history and tradition. Or better yet with psalms.

the body of Christ is the people; the world. The tomb is empty and we are the living stones.

Ann -- I agree with what you said. Felt prompted to mention the practice of Benediction, etc. in my parish, not at all a "backward" one, as some of the (younger?) folks on this thread inquired about it and perhaps have not had much experience of it in their respective locales.

I also resonated with the suggestions made by Joseph O'Leary. They call to mind the efforts of our bishops to bring a bit more silence and reflection to the Eucharistic liturgy, such as by having a few quiet moments after Communion, a time period that might have been filled in with more communal (or other) singing (verbal input).

When Bill M. countered those (JOL's) remarks, it reminded me that sometimes some folks feel the "church" is going to be pulled backward, away from the communal thrust of recent years, by maintaining some of the common devotions of our tradition. Or, some may think or fear that if personal prayer is too much promoted, it may lead to a privatistic piety that also might diminish the gains achieved regarding our appreciation of communithy and communal liturgical celebration. That need not and should not be.

What people who practice a regular prayer life generally experience is that the prayer experience is very much related to the life of charity and surrender to God. If the latter falters, so will the prayer experience. Both are critical to our wholeness, holiness.

Recent popes and a number of theologians have written eloquently and exhortatively regarding the practice of adoring prayer before the Lord present in the Sacrament. They say better than I ever could that the event of the Mass is so stupendous, the time period of the Mass is not adequate for us to express the worship and thanksgiving it rightly evokes. They urge us to have "holy hours" and the like. "Taste and see how good the Lord is!"

I see George D has commented. I agree that it is not necessary to be in church or with the consecrated species in order to commune deeply with Jesus and the Trinity. All I can say is how wonderfully powerful and life-altering it has been for me since my parish made the opportunity available.

There are some quiet times in the Mass (e.g., when the Host is elevated) when no one says anything, but can anyone doubt that the community is united in silent prayer?

Yes, one can doubt it. Look around you at those times and see the parent chastising their kid, the person playing with their scab, the one examining their nails and the other one going through their purse. It is distracting, and I used to find it downright disheartening - very lonely. Now I mostly focus on the priest, but still, if he happens to glance at his watch in the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer, it is such a let-down.

Maybe you need to focus on the Host? And that's exactly what we mainly used to do at Benedction -- focus on the Host, the presence of the Lord.

It seems to me that people are designed not to focus too much on one thing -- life in the jungle was safer when we noticed irregularities more quickly. Theses days especially we seem to need to learn to focus better. How else to account for the popularity of all those Hindu and Buddhist focusing/contemplation techniques? Life is too scattered these days, and even at Mass it's difficult to keep our attention where the action is, so to speak. And that's one of the reasons, I think, that many of us are asking for more quiet times in the Mass when we're *supposed* to be focusing on the Lord, when all eyes are pointed to the same One.

Ann, yes of course, but, you know, you're incorporating the presence of other people into your consciousness as well, aren't you? And what is more uplifting than, say, a prayer of the faithful that happens to echo what's in your heart, or the dizzying sight of one person after another receiving communion attentively?

Claire, some cities, some parish communities are better than others "awareness-wise". You may find a better one someday.

Your observation reminds me of a very different experience at my church last Christmas Day. So many come only on that day and families bring guests. So, the pews were packed end to end and so were the aisles, the vestibule, people pouring out the door. I wonder what the fire department would have thought of that, with candles everywhere and flamable decorations.

I expected to live through the most distracting Mass of my life. How impressive it was to me that at the moment of elevation - and perhaps beyond - that entire church was completely still! WIth all those children and babies, the excitement of Christmas in the air, all those bodies uncomfortably jammed into a too-small space.

After Mass, I talked to a man from another state and his little girl. We both remarked that in the midst of the racket and hassles of the season, we felt we'd been lifted out of time for an hour and a half. (Yes, "and a half" - with that many people coming to Communion.) It was so beautiful and reverent and consoling. Consoling. Sometimes there's a moment when the world and the church look as they are meant to be - at one.

I don't think we really disagree. Our tendency to be distracted is quite natural, I think. And there are both communal and personal aspects of the Mass. in fact, I think we need to go back a bit to some of the silences in the old Mass. Even old folks like me who have welcomed most of the changes do miss the old reverence that was obvious especially in some of the old quiet parts.

Hi, Gerelyn - it's at least equally likely that I've just missed the boat. Actually, your comment spurred me to check out the nearby parishes to see which ones offer regular Eucharistic adoration. I checked 10 nearby parishes; nine out of the 10 have it on their weekly calendars. Mine does it on Friday mid-mornings, which is the middle of my work day, but there are plenty of evening options. I don't know how many of them end their adoration with Benediction, but it's a pretty safe bet that at least some of them do.

Fwiw, I attended Catholic school for most of my grammar school years, all four years of high school, four years of college, and I've been through a diaconate formation program (all of the above in the post-Vatican II era) - but, as I say, to the best of my knowledge/memory, I've only been to Benediction one time in my life. My parents, who each attended 12 years of Catholic school but in the pre-Vatican II days, had a very different experience.

Btw, it was quite interesting to see the other parish's websites and bulletins, so I'm grateful for your motivating me to do this little research project.

I celebrated Benediction last Holy Thursday, so it cannot be quite as extinct as some seem to think. As to eucharistic adoration it is not at all opposed ot "celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus by his people." If it were it would not be recommended by the Church as an extension of the Eucharist similar to the Viaticum. Just as the Viaticum brings us closer to God's people by integrating the sick and dying into the community, so eucharistic devotion often brings us closer to God's people, praying silently in churches in Dublin for example. The Paschal Mystery is celebrated just as deeply in contemplation as in lively songs and dances..

The feast of Corupus Christi only rose to prominence due to the influence of the Beguines in the Middle Ages. That does not make it illegitimate but neither does it make it part of the patrimony of the apostolic Church. I have no objection to benediction if it facilitates greater mindfulness, awareness, and simplicity. The problem is that it frequently devolves into superstition.

I do think that the clear emphasis of liturgical reform was to highlight the communal nature of liturgy. I would rather see a resurgence in the recitation of the liturgy of the hours than in benediction which lacks a scriptural or biblical basis.

I don't see prayer at a Benediction service as an individualistic sort of prayer even though some of the prayer is silent. That there is silence doesn't imply that we are not praying together, each in our own idiom, perhaps. We are all directed our attention to the Lord together, and there are communal spoken prayers and singing hymns together. It is not the sort of private contemplation encouraged in convents and monaseries, although tindividual adoration *before* the service while the Host is exposed *prior* to the service could include that sort of private experience..

I don't see prayer at a Benediction service as an individualistic sort of prayer even though some of the prayer is silent. That there is silence doesn't imply that we are not praying together, each in our own idiom, perhaps. We are all directed our attention to the Lord together, and there are communal spoken prayers and singing hymns together. It is not the sort of private contemplation encouraged in convents and monaseries, although tindividual adoration *before* the service while the Host is exposed *prior* to the service could include that sort of private experience..

Re: George D.'s comment about benediction and adoration frequently devolving into superstition; I don't see how one would draw that conclusion. Maybe a couple hundred years ago when people were not encouraged to receive the Eucharist often. Not in my lifetime in the parishes I have attended. As far as "communal vs contemplative", why not both / and. Yes, the liturgy of the hours is a treasure of the Church, so is Eucharistic adoration. So why not do them both. Our parish has had adoration 24/7 for sixteen years(except during the hours when Mass is celebrated). The fruits of that have been overwhelmingly positive, and have added to, not subtracted from, the communal bond of the parish.

The Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy made the famous statement that "the liturgy is the summit toward which the Church's activitiy is directed and the source from which all her strength flows" (#10). But it preceded this statement with this one: "The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church" (#9), and it followed it with this one: "The spiritual life is not confined to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is assuredly called to pray with his brothers and sisters, but he must also enter into his chamber to pray to the Father in secret (cf. Mt 6:6)" (#12) and then with another: "Popular devotions of the Christian people are warmly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church.." It then returns to the initial statement: "Devotions should be drawn up in such a way that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since the liturgy of its very nature far surpasses any of them" (#13).